Amid falling profits, the Tri-City Healthcare District board on Thursday delayed a decision on whether to give CEO Larry Anderson a raise.

Anderson earns a $515,000 base salary, plus bonuses, and has a $200,000 benefit package. His contract calls for the board to review his salary at least annually.

The board last awarded Anderson a raise in December, a 3 percent bump.

Several board members said Thursday that they needed more time to vet a 43-page report prepared by a contract consultant hired to study Anderson's salary and incentive-based bonuses. The report was presented to the board in closed session just before the open session.

The report was prepared by the Mercer firm, which has been working with a board committee to develop a list of goals and objectives Anderson would need to achieve in order to receive incentive bonuses.

The report was not made available to the public at the meeting, for lack of copies.

Delaying the raise decision until September will give the staff time to close the books on the fiscal year that ended June 30. The hospital's financial outlook and performance will likely figure into the board's decision on any incentive-based bonuses.

The board awarded Anderson a 23 percent bonus last year, based primarily on the district posting its strongest financial year on record, netting a $15 million profit.

Earlier in the meeting, the board received a preliminary report that the district failed to meet its financial projections for the fiscal year that ended June 30. In June alone, the district anticipated a $1.012 million profit and instead netted $187,000. Hospital staff cited unusually low patient volume.

Chief Financial Officer Alex Yu said the district will post a profit of $7.2 million for the fiscal year, although it originally forecast an $11 million profit.

"It is still the second best year the hospital has had in 13 years," Anderson said.